Give and Take was an event designed to bring together younger and older residents of Newham in an intergenerational
exploration of how we can create happy, thriving and sustainable communities across the borough.
The two hour session kicked off with screenings of Neighbourhood 15 and the new Architecture Crew promo film, followed by
a short discussion around the question “50,000 new homes are proposed for Newham: who are they for and what is needed
to make them work?”. The final part of the session was spent creating a variety of model buildings, which the participants labelled
with slogans and statements around the sustainable communities theme. These models were placed on a giant map of Newham
and the event concluded with a mood of celebration that so many thoughts and ideas had been visually presented in just two hours.
exploration of how we can create happy, thriving and sustainable communities across the borough.
The two hour session kicked off with screenings of Neighbourhood 15 and the new Architecture Crew promo film, followed by
a short discussion around the question “50,000 new homes are proposed for Newham: who are they for and what is needed
to make them work?”. The final part of the session was spent creating a variety of model buildings, which the participants labelled
with slogans and statements around the sustainable communities theme. These models were placed on a giant map of Newham
and the event concluded with a mood of celebration that so many thoughts and ideas had been visually presented in just two hours.
Look at how a greener approach to house design and services could cut our personal maintenance costs as well as protecting the environment. We want to attract new business and industry to Newham but they need to be eco-friendly.
Young and old alike we want to feel safe wherever we go in our communities, including our local green spaces. We want to restore respect and cut gun crime, and we think having more things to do and sensitive local policing on our estates could help.
For young and old to get along they need to live closer together. We need a central place in each local community where everyone goes but where lots of different things go on inside. And we need other places to go that will attract people of all ages and cultures. We thought about markets, cinemas, bingo halls and swimming pools.
We want to attract British and International business but we want them to look after our environment and invest in the local community by offering training, apprenticeships and job opportunities as well as supporting local social enterprises. We understand that the 2012 Olympic Games may be good for Newham, but we are worried, especially with the rising cost of living, that the Government is not spending enough time and money on our long term future.
We need more affordable homes for everyone that lives here including people who may need extra care or help. A higher percentage of all homes being built in the borough should be affordable homes for rent or sale to local people. Newham also needs good quality homes that are suitable; tower blocks are not suitable places for children to live. And flats in the new blocks are either too expensive or are cheaper but not such good quality.
We need to work on creating lots of small communities across the borough where people can get to shops and other services on foot. In some areas that means providing more surgeries and schools. Small, interesting local shops and small units for start up businesses can help to build a community, can add variety and fit in with the cultural interests and needs of local people as well as reduce the need to travel by car or public transport.
We want our communities to be fun places in which to live and work together. Young people said that they know older people still have a sense of humour and want to have fun but that young and older people don’t know how to have fun together. Think about places and events where young and older people can have fun together. We thought about having a Bollywood Cinema and an open air café. Some of us wanted a skateboard tunnel and amusement park as well.
